Peter Stone covers lobbying, campaign finance and other issues for the National Journal. We ask him the inner workings of the Republican Party and the key players and financiers behind the scenes. [includes rush transcript]

The Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, like last week’s Democratic convention in Denver, is largely funded by big corporations. We try to go inside the suites at both conventions, and speak to Colorado Senator Ken Salazar and MSNBC pundit Tucker Carlson. [includes rush transcript]

As John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination inside the Xcel Center last night, nearly 400 people were being arrested on the streets of St. Paul, including more than a dozen media workers. Among them were Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and Democracy Now! producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who had been arrested on Monday while covering another protest. They were handcuffed and detained for about an hour and a half before being...

In an interview on Democracy Now!, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher blamed a group of 400 to 500 alleged anarchists for creating unrest in St. Paul over the past week. Fletcher also admitted local police authorities had infiltrated and spied on local activists, including members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, for over a year. We play his remarks and an excerpt of a press conference, where members of the RNC Welcoming Committee spoke to the...

We speak with Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi American who grew up in Najaf. He left in the late 1970s and eventually moved to the United States and settled down in Minneapolis. In November 2004, nearly thirty years after leaving Iraq, Sami returned home to help rebuild his country as director of the Muslim Peacemakers Team in Najaf. He is back in Minneapolis now on a visit from Iraq and joins us in St. Paul. [includes rush transcript]

Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. On Thursday, other members of the anarchist group held their first press conference. One local activist accused the police of beating and torturing him in jail. [includes rush transcript]

Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of a prominent activist group with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act. The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison. We speak with the father of one of those charged and the president of the Minnesota...

Police in St. Paul are being accused of continuing to intimidate a group of video makers that traveled to the Twin Cities to document police misconduct during the Republican National Convention. On Saturday, police raided a home where members of the I-Witness Video collective were staying. Members of the group were detained for over two hours. The building’s landlord forced the group to move out yesterday after police armed with batons...

Two days after several journalists were arrested covering the RNC protests, including three staffers at Democracy Now!, county and city prosecutors held a press conference in St. Paul. Amy Goodman was there to question them about the crackdown on journalists. [includes rush transcript]